Understanding Cultures in International Business
Mesh, Liz, and I are working at Monash Hospital Australia. Liz is an American-born Christian living and working in Australia. She traveled to Australia to study nursing at Monash University a few years ago after graduating from Manor high school in the United States. This was her first trip outside her home, and she was excited to finally study outside her home country. Liz was lucky to get a job as a nurse at the Monash Hospital during her fourth year at the university, where she has been working for the last six months. When Liz joined the Monash Hospital, she met Mesh, her friend from Cape York; Mesh and I are community nurse at the hospital and is among the academic pioneers from her community, Horn Island (Ngurupai). I joined the institution long before Mesh and Liz; however, we are tasked with the same job descriptions. Although Mesh is charming and fun to relate to, she avoids publicly mentioning her religious stands.
Some of the mandatory hospital policies included a community service program that was held once every three months. Community service is a program established by the hospital in collaboration with community hospitals within remote areas to help the public through information, free health screening, medication, and advice. When the time for community service came, we were allocated to offer our services at northern cape (Horn Island), where we were assigned to preside at Thursday medical health. Our primary duties included; creating awareness of nutritional health and maternal health concerns for pregnant women and children. It was my first time traveling to the towns within the indigenous communities of Australia; we embarked on a four-day mission where we were to reside a. However, the first day was to be spent at Mesh place since it was their hometown.
Mesh had arranged everything, and her parents had prepared a place to stay; we traveled on Sunday since we were to start our program on Monday. However, before we began our journey, we ensured to eat well. It was a holy day, and the community had converged to the sacred place to worship God; according to Mesh, attending church was a mandatory affair, and she opted that we pass by the church. The church building stood high with a cross and a red carpet from the entrance to the pulpit, decorated with flowers and mats with great art and embroidery. Entering the church was ceremonious; hymns were played, and dancers at the pulpit danced to the tune; we were about to sit down when we realized everyone had washed their hands before they were directed to their seats. We washed our hands and bowed to the holy place. I later discovered that fathers and pastors were the only people allowed to the sacred ground.
The church ceremony was over, and it was time to join Mesh and her family. Their home was fifteen minutes away from the church compound, and since it was not a large city, there was minimal traffic. The living room view from the hallway was superb and neatly arranged; the room’s curtains, seats, and furniture were a blend of orange, luminous, and ivory. We were ushered in by Mesh; as we entered the room, we found her grandmother seated in the TV area. We exchanged greetings and went to sit down; we could not help but notice the aroma from the dining area. The Ngurupai traditional cuisine and drinks were served food which included; Taro, sweet potato, and cassava; when the food was served, Liz declined that she was full and that she was not going to eat. At that moment, I saw Mesh’s grandmother call to the hallway away from us; I could not hear what she was saying since she was talking in a low tone; however, I could see the frown on her face.
When she came to the table, she told Liz that she had to eat since their culture valued food. The food offered to visitors signifies blessings to the hosting family. Therefore, they had to be treated with traditional food, and declining to eat food was disrespectful not only to their family but to their culture. Her grandmother felt disrespected by Liz and was angry at her, meal time went by, and everyone was silent. Upon realizing how the incident created the stalemate, I felt confused; I thought everyone amongst them was valid in their arguments. The most interesting part of our team is the argument that declining the food was a sign of disrespect; we never expected how food could be used to determine virtues and vices within society. While Mesh’s grandmother felt offended by Liz, she did not understand why she had to eat ethnic cuisine when she was full. No such rule in their home country indicated that visitors had to eat traditional food, even when full, citing disrespect. Mesh’s grandmother was mad at Liz; she also hated how she was dressed; she kept telling her to cover herself. Although Liz did not see any problem with what she had done, it was undoubtedly apparent that our arrival at Mesh family was not appreciated. We moved to Thursday’s health clinic.
Analysis
Firstly, based on the observation, Mesh’s societal culture strongly believes that visitors should be offered traditional food as an honor and a great introduction to their culture to the out-group. Secondly, the visitors should not decline the food since it is a sign of a blessing to the hosting family. On the other hand, declining food was a sign of disrespect from the visitors. Some families pack food for their visitors if they cannot finish their food. Another observation is that the Horn Island (Ngurupai) has an excellent value for food. Liz’s grandmother could also be a gourmand or gluttonous. The Ngurupai culture is also strict on women’s dress code; women should dress cordially without exposing their bodies. Wearing short dresses and exposing tops is taboo and signifies a lack of morals.
Cultural Concepts
Culture can be defined as a holistic set of learned and shared values, customs, and practices that brings a group together. Culture is a dynamic phenomenon that changes based on the needs and behavior of individuals; culture does not take the efforts of one individual to fully bring out what it takes to form a functional culture (Hofstede, 2011). However, it takes the uniqueness and expressions of every individual to create the desired culture. Cultures may not seem the same at a glance, but different cultures have generalizations and assumptions that set them apart from other cultures. Culture also relates to the psychological aspects of individuals and teams. This develops ethnocentrism, where cultures tend to feel that their culture is superior to other cultures; although this view may seem beneficial within a group, it is detrimental since it widens gaps between cultures.
From the above observations, the cross-cultural incident occurred because of the non-effectiveness of non-verbal communication between Mesh and Liz. Mesh did not outline some of their cultural expectations to Liz regarding food since she did not think it was necessary. On her part, Liz did not understand why she would be forced to eat traditional food when she requested any food. The cultural incidents between Liz and Mesh can be explained within the lanes of cultural dimensions as introduced by Hall; anthropologists postulated that some cultures put more emphasis on the benefits of non-structured communication, also known as the high context (Storey, 2018). High-context cultures portray relational cultures, indicating aspects of common interpersonal relationships. Hall determines high-context cultures as those with great harmony and prestige on a group success as opposed to individual achievement (Radovic Markovic & Salamzadeh, 2018). On the other hand, in low-context communication, members are expected to be explicit and straight to the intended meaning since the individuals are not expected to know their backgrounds or long-standing histories. Therefore, in a low context of communication, messages are more direct.
Another theory that can explain this cultural incidence is Hofstede’s theory. Hofstede developed many dimensions to explain intercultural differences (Jackson, 2020). In explaining the differences between developed collectivism- individualism concepts as the primary reason cultures vary globally. This concept portrayed how individuals were placed in society with close or loose ties; the individualist has a loose association with the team. Everyone looks after themselves and how they can enrich their lives. For instance, in the case of Liz’s traditions, their culture is more individualistic and does not consider the challenges that the other person could suffer because of their shortcomings. The concept views situations in the constructs of ‘I’ and postulates that individuals have rights to privacy and choices.
Conversely, the collectivist culture has its people strongly bonded; the concept argues that people are born into the extended family and will protect their norms in exchange for some specific loyalties (Jackson, 2020). Individuals believing in this concept believe within the ‘we’ constructs. They also live in harmony and classify members according to in-group and outgroup, where the in-group decides on ideas and opinions. However, deviation from the desired norms can be punishable or lead to shame against society (Radovic Markovic & Salamzadeh, 2018). In this case, Mesh’s culture and traditions can be associated with the collectivist concept. Although Liz feels that she is entitled to decline food offered to her, Mesh’s grandmother feels Liz has disrespected her family and her culture, indicating that their culture insists on collective benefits and effects. According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, individualism index scores have been listed in approximately 75 countries, including the United States, most of which are western countries. On the other hand, collectivism scored a higher index within less developed countries.
Another concept that influences cultural incidence is the intercultural communication model by Dodd; the model postulates that culture increases the complexity of culture and focuses on the individual personality and the relationship tier (Han & Han, 2019). The Dodd model, also known as the third culture, postulates that communication and culture begin when individuals meet, these individuals often start to notice their differences and, therefore, may come together to build the third culture (Han & Han, 2019). Dodd introduced critical elements in his model where the first and the second cultures could come together, hence introducing the aspects of perceived cultural differences. From these elements, Dodd argued that perception is the most significant meaning of the theory. This stems from the assumption that cultural differences are acquired through perception. In this case, countries such as Australia do not consider much emphasis on individual perception when analyzing cultural systems; instead, actions are essential, unlike western countries. The theory argues that explicit versus implicit cultural rules offer a guide to different cultures (Han & Han, 2019). In an explicit rule, policies are communicated clearly so that everyone is aware; however, the implicit rules are communicated non-verbally, and objectives are rarely stated.
Different factors could lead to differences in food value between Mesh and Liz’s cultures. Firstly, in the Mesh culture, the Ngurupai values traditional food since they associate it with their ancestors. The belief that the food grown directly from their land was sacred put much respect on the land’s holiness, and whatever came from it ought to be respected. On the other hand, Liz viewed food from the western perspective, where every intake of food had a nutritional value to the body, which could be negative or positive. In this case, Liz might have thought it unnecessary to eat food due to indigestion or bloating which could have medical implications for her.
Another aspect Mesh’s grandmother may not be happy about is Liz’s dress because their strict culture forbids women from showing off their bodies; the culture ensures that women are conservative; the Ngurupai culture recommends modest clothing that covers thigh, arms as well as chests. Conversely, the western culture where Liz comes from values freedom of expression in aspects such as dressing; hence wearing a sleeveless blouse was not an issue to be concerned about. It is also possible that the grandmother did not like Liz. Non-verbal elements such as gestures, posture, and cues are essential non-verbal elements that can create a perception between the receiver and the presenter (Hua, 2018). Thus, Liz’s posture on non-verbal cues could have been misinterpreted by the Mesh’s family; the theory also argues that the presenter’s appearance and the surrounding elements affect the recipient’s perceptions and emotions. This includes hairstyles, dress code, and the hairstyle, therefore. Liz’s clothing could have increased the barrier between the two cultures.
Based on the observations, no law offers right to cultures any right to force individuals to eat food because of their perceived shame or common happenings. Therefore, it was likely that their visitors could not share their beliefs; it is only prudent that the two cultures could compromise on principles to enhance harmony. It is also not possible that Mesh’s grandmother could hate based on her clothing without considering other factors since individuals have different ways of interacting with other people. Therefore, when cultures interact, they clash on various aspects that cannot be avoided. Stereotypes and beliefs can also influence cultural racism in different cultures. Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, individualism could negatively affect different teams within the organization (Han & Han, 2019). Therefore, IBMs and management in different countries should create a less discriminative culture that understands the uniqueness of existing cultures. Moreover, businesses and careers are no longer carried out regionally; instead, people have to cross orders and interact with individuals with different views.
References
Han, J., & Han, Y. (2019). Cultural concepts as powerful theoretical tools: Chinese teachers’ perceptions of their relationship with students in a cross-cultural context. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Hua, Z. (2018). Exploring intercultural communication: Language in action. Routledge.
Jackson, T. (2020). The legacy of Geert Hofstede. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 20(1), 3-6.
Radovic Markovic, M., & Salamzadeh, A. (2018). The importance of communication in business management. The 7th International Scientific Conference on Employment, Education and Entrepreneurship, Belgrade, Serbia.
Storey, J. (2018). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction. Routledge.